Galatians 5:22-23 Fruit of the Spirit is Self-Control
I have always been a music lover, it is my way to escape the world. I begged my father for the “Thriller” album when & wore it out on my record player. The older I got my taste in music changed, I got rebellious, I discovered heavy metal & hard rock & I started going to concerts in 1989. In the late 90’s I saw a CD of Nu-metal group name Korn, so I bought & really enjoyed a new sound of rebellion. When I gave my life to Christ, I was wondering if I really listen to music, that gives me a rebellious spirit. My new church was having a going away party for a new friend I just met. I was talking to him & asked if I have a collection of heavy metal & hard rock music, & I feel like God wants me to give it up, I ask him, can I give it up. He said something I will never forget, he said, “ Sam sometime you just gotta let things go. It was the first step at learning the fruit of the Spirit of self-control.
Luke 9:23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.
As with the other fruits of the spirit, it takes surrender of self, Jesus says if you wanna follow Me, you & I have to put death to love of self. One day I was driving my car & listening to a Christian radio station like always, & they said something amazing to my music loving ears. They had announced that the guitar player Brian “Welch” Head for Korn had found Jesus & left the band, he went to Israel to be baptized in the River Jordan. They were talking about how awesome it was that this rock-n-roll dude, who had a fan-club, tons of money & women just dying to be with him, walked away from a big successful music group. They have certified double platinum, one is certified triple platinum & gold record, but Brian said he had to leave. In his testimony he stated, he would do his drug with $100 bill, & the mother of daughter had passed away. One day he was at home & his daughter was running around the house singing a Korn song. I knew the lyrics very well. The song is titled A.D.I.D.A.S, some of may remember how the bad kids would back down the letters of the sports brand ADIDAS, & the writer of the song just drove it farther. Brian just sat there, listening to his young daughter sing a song he wrote & performed. She just run around her father singing, “ All day I dream about sex” over & over, in his heart, he knew, the sins he was living, his daughter was learning them & repeat them as if was innocent every day. No person demonstrates self-control other than the author of life, & author of denying self. While He was on trail for a crime He never committed He never defended Himself. The only time He said anything was defend His Father God’s name;
Matthew 26:62 The high priest stood up and said to Him, “Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?”62 The high priest stood up and said to Him, “Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?”
Jesus using self-control & being silent, it made His accusers even more upset, nothing can make someone more upset that none of their insults & abuse, really brother you. Scripture even tells me & you. Jesus remained silent each time He was judged & they people who were judging Him, insulted & mock Him more.
Luke 23:9 And he questioned Him at some length; but He answered him nothing.10 And the chief priests and the scribes were standing there, accusing Him vehemently.11 And Herod with his soldiers, after treating Him with contempt and mocking Him, dressed Him in a gorgeous robe and sent Him back to Pilate.
Twice i have shown you Jesus maintain self-control & was silent while being judged, then there was the last time, with Pontius Pilate;
John 19:9and he entered into the Praetorium again and *said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer.10 So Pilate said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?”
IF we want to be like Jesus & call ourselves Christian, our desires, wants & personal pleasure have to die. It has to be done to bring glory to God, & let others see Jesus in me & you. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit will help us to have more self-control, so that we can win more lost souls to the Kingdom of God. God bless you all, the Lord Jesus loves you & so do I. Sam H.
2 Peter 1:5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.